Sam and Colby were helping their mother clean up. They had just finished a massive party for Colby's 18th birthday. Their father had gone to pick up some groceries or at least, that's what he told Colby. When their father came in he walked over and gave their mother a kiss. He winked at her and they both looked towards Sam and Colby.
" Colby," said their father. " Your mother and I have one more gift for you."
" Cool, what is it?" asked Colby.
Their father reached into his back pocket and took out a set of car keys. Colby's eyes widened in surprise and he smiled happily.
" No! Way!" he said, as he took the keys. He rushed outside his front door and stopped in his tracks.
A new red car was sitting in their driveway. Colby was in disbelief. He walked up to it and opened the door, sliding into the driver's seat. He then got out to examine the car. His parents and Sam had followed him outside.
" Sorry it's not a super fancy one," said their mother.
" Are you kidding?" said Colby. " It's perfect! It's red!"
" I'm so glad you like it," said their mother.
" Can I take it for a ride?" asked Colby.
" Yes, but be careful," said their mother.
" Follow the traffic laws," said their father, " and be back before 11."
" I will, I promise," said Colby. " You coming, Sam?"
" You want me to come?" asked Sam.
" Of course, dude, c'mon," said Colby.
Sam happily ran over and got into the passenger seat of the car. Colby slowly backed out of the driveway and honked goodbye to their parents as he drove off.
" I have a feeling we won't be seeing them for the rest of the night," said their father.
" I think you're probably right," laughed their mother.
Colby was loving his new car. He had the window down, he loved feeling the wind in his hair and blasting whatever music he wanted.
" Don't you just feel so free?" asked Colby.
" I would if I was the one driving," laughed Sam.
" You'll get there, don't worry," said Colby.
" Where are we going anyway?" asked Sam.
" I thought we could make a little stop at the warehouse," said Colby.
Sam laughed. " I'll never understand your obsession with that place," he said.
" It's not an obsession, I just think it's cool," said Colby. " Don't you?"
" Yea, I guess so," said Sam. " But we've explored it thousands of times already, don't you wanna find a different spot?"
" Maybe next time," said Colby.
Colby came to a stop on the road just outside the warehouse. They both had to walk through a large field of brush before they reached it but they were used to that. Sam and Colby used the secret entrance they had discovered to enter the warehouse and looked around.
" All of this graffiti wasn't here before," said Sam, as he climbed in after Colby.
" Yea, these markings look strange," said Colby.
Both of them carried on their way. They knew this place inside out, they had explored it several times right when their parents got married. Colby had purposely tried to ditch Sam a few times in here to get him lost, but Sam had somehow always found his way back. This was before they got super close.
Colby was interrupted from his thoughts when he thought he heard what sounded like footsteps coming towards them. This place was abandoned, and as far as Sam and Colby were aware, no one else knew of its location. Sam stopped behind Colby and they both watched as two other boys, around their age, rounded the corner. They jumped, Sam and Colby having startled them.
" Um, who are you?" asked Colby.
" I'm Nate, this is Alex," he responded. " Who are you?"
" I'm Colby, this is my brother Sam," answered Colby. " Why are you exploring our warehouse?"
" Your warehouse?" said Nate.
" Yea, we found it first," said Colby.
" Really?" said Alex. " Cause we've been coming here for weeks and we've never seen you two."
" Well, now you have, so get lost," said Colby.
" No way!" said Nate. " This place is a hidden gem, we're not leaving."
" Colby, stop," said Sam. " It's not a big deal. It's just an old warehouse and it's massive. It's big enough for all of us to explore. You guys take that side and we'll take this one. Problem solved."
" Works for me," said Nate. Alex followed behind him.
Colby wasn't happy about the situation but Sam was right. Colby just hoped that Nate and Alex didn't decide to ruin anything or wreck the place.
Sam and Colby had been exploring for a while without seeing Nate or Alex again. They had started to make their way back to their secret entrance because it was getting dark. That's when Colby noticed Nate on the roof of the warehouse.
" Oh no," said Colby. He quickly ran closer, and yelled up to them. " Nate, get down from there!"
" Oh hey, Colby," said Nate. " Sorry, what was that?"
" You need to get down from there!" shouted Colby. " The roof is not stable, that floor could give out any second!"
" Nice try," shouted Nate. " But I got up here first and I'm not coming down."
Colby quickly gestured for Sam to follow him and they both raced up the staircase leading to the roof. They had just reached the last set of steps when they heard Nate scream. He was hanging from the spot where the floor caved in and made a hole. Nate was shaking as Alex tried to pull him up. Sam and Colby rushed to help, all three of them grabbing Nate's hands and pulling him up.
All of them were breathing heavily as they pulled Nate to safety. They all sat down to catch their breath.
" How did you know that floor was unstable?" asked Alex.
" We know this place inside out," explained Sam. " We know which floors and which spots are dangerous and to avoid them."
Nate looked over towards Colby. " Thanks," he said.
Colby nodded to him and then turned to Sam. " It's getting late, we should probably go," he said.
" Uhhhh, guys?" said Alex. " What is that?"
Alex had been looking out across the field and pointed to something in the distance. The rest of them joined Alex, crouching down and following his gaze. A group of people dressed in the same black cloaks and creepy masks were making their way into the warehouse.
" Shit!" said Sam. " We need to leave now."
All 4 of them began making their way across the roof and back into the warehouse. They stopped suddenly when they realized that this group of people were blocking the main entrance. The only way out now was Sam and Colby's secret entrance.
" This way, quick," said Sam, leading them back up the stairs to the second floor.
Sam hadn't noticed the new trap that wasn't there the last time they had come, but Colby did. Colby grabbed onto Sam's shirt, stopping him. The impact made Colby fall forward and his foot landed right in the bear trap that had been set. Colby winced in pain, trying not to scream as he knew it would give away their location. Several spikes dug into his foot and part of his leg.
" Oh my god! Colby!" said Sam.
" Ohh fuck!" said Colby.
Sam quickly knelt down to examine the trap. " Colby, I'm gonna have to pry this open. Which means I'm gonna need to pull these spikes out of your skin."
" It's okay, just do it," said Colby.
Sam used all of his strength to pry the trap open. Luckily, he was wearing gloves. Colby winced in pain, biting his lip to avoid letting out a scream. It was old and rusted, which made it easier to open. Colby took his foot out once it opened. He leaned against the wall to support himself as he bled badly. Sam threw Colby's arm over his shoulder, helping him to walk.
" I thought you two said you knew this place inside out," exclaimed Nate.
" That wasn't here before," answered Sam.
All 4 of them made their way into a small room, out of view of everything. There was no point in trying the secret entrance now, because Colby wouldn't be able to pull himself up to the ledge. Sam quickly sat Colby against the wall. Nate and Alex filed in behind him. Sam and Nate went over to a small crack in the floor and looked down to the first floor. The people they had seen were standing in a circle just in front of the main entrance of the warehouse. Both Sam and Nate watched them curiously, and tore their eyes away as they snapped the neck of a live animal they had brought with them.
" Did they just do a fucking sacrifice?" asked Nate.
" That's what it looked like," said Sam.
" Ok, yeah, we need to leave! Now!" said Nate.
" How do you suggest we do that?" asked Sam. "They're blocking the main entrance and our secret one is all the way at the other end."
"There's a secret one?" asked Alex.
" Not anymore," said Sam.
" We should call for help," said Nate.
" Can't, there's no signal out here," explained Sam.
Alex took out his phone. " Shit, he's right," said Alex.
Nate walked over to the window of the small room and looked outside. It was too high to jump, but he squinted as he noticed something in the distance.
" Hey, who's car is that?" asked Nate.
" Mine," said Colby.
" Dude, why would you park there?" asked Nate. "If they see it they're going to know someone else is here."
" Forget that," said Alex. " We can use that to get out of here."
" How?" said Nate.
" There's a hole in the wall near the main entrance that's on the other side of the 1st floor, it might be big enough for us to squeeze through," explained Alex. " If we make a break for it quickly, we can probably make it."
" We can, but Colby can't," said Sam.
" That's not our problem," said Alex.
" Excuse me?" said Sam. " We can't leave him here."
" He'd just slow us down," said Alex.
" I'm not leaving him," said Sam.
" Okay, then give us the keys," said Nate. "You stay, we'll go."
" If you want these keys, you're gonna have to take them from me," said Sam.
" You say that as if I can't do it," said Nate, slowly walking towards Sam.
" Guys stop!" said Colby. " Sam, just go with them and call for help. I'll be fine."
" No, I'm not leaving you here alone," said Sam. " One of you can stay with him and the other one can come with me."
" How does that solve anything?" asked Nate.
" Because that way we both have someone that we need to come back for," explained Sam. "It guarantees that no one will get left behind. Two of us can go, drive until we get a signal, call for help and come right back."
" And why exactly should we trust you?" asked Alex.
" We all need to trust each other," said Sam. " It's the only way all four of us are getting out of this."
" Ok, fine!" said Nate. " I'll stay here, Alex you go."
" Ok," said Alex.
" No, Sam don't," said Colby. " I'm fine! I can make it." Colby tried to stand but immediately fell back down once he tried to stand on his foot. Sam quickly rushed over to him.
" You're in no condition to drive or even walk for that matter," said Sam. " I got this."
" Please be careful," said Colby.
" I will," said Sam. He then turned to Nate. " Promise me you won't leave his side."
" Only if you promise not to leave Alex," said Nate.
" I give you my word," said Sam.
" Ok then, me too," said Nate.
" We won't be long," said Sam.
Nate followed Sam and Alex over to the exit and watched as Sam quickly and quietly made his way down the stairs and over to the small crack and eased his way through. Alex then turned to Nate.
" Look, as soon as I get the chance to make the jump on him, I'll grab the keys and run," said Alex. " I'll find a spot to call for help and come back for you."
" Dude, what?" asked Nate. " You can't do that, we promised each other."
" Do you seriously think he's not gonna leave me the second he gets the chance?" asked Alex. " The only reason he's even coming back here is because of his brother. If he wasn't here, he would leave you for dead."
" You don't know that," said Nate.
" Maybe not, but if I were you, I would ditch Colby and find a way out of here asap," said Alex. "He'll only slow you down, and you know it."
With that, Alex made his way down the stairs, slipped through the hole and ran to join Sam as they made their way towards Colby's car.
Nate returned back into the small room where Colby was still sitting. Colby winced in pain and Nate sat down beside him. Nate reached into his backpack and pulled out a first aid kit and found some bandages. He slowly and carefully took off Colby's shoe and began wrapping Colby's foot.
" Smart idea, bringing that," said Colby.
" Never leave home without one," said Nate. He had just finished wrapping Colby's foot. " How does that feel?"
" Better, thanks," said Colby.
" Consider it a thank you for saving my butt back there," said Nate. He then settled against the wall beside Colby.
" So, how did you and Alex meet?" asked Colby.
" We're middle school friends," said Nate. " There's not much to do around Kansas so we decided to just hit up some old abandoned places out here."
" There's more abandoned places out here?" asked Colby.
" Yea, there's this really creepy barn a little further down the street," said Nate.
" That sounds cool," said Colby.
" It's so cool, and rumor has it the place is haunted too," said Nate.
" Dude, that's awesome," said Colby.
" I know right," said Nate.
Nate and Colby just sat there awkwardly. They had not expected to have a friendly conversation like that.
" Did we just find common ground?" asked Colby.
" I think we did," laughed Nate.
Both of them smiled at each other. Colby suddenly frowned as he thought about Sam.
"Hey, don't worry, they'll make it," said Nate.
" I know," said Colby.
Sam and Alex quietly made their way through the long brush and trees towards Colby's car. They were taking their time so that they didn't accidentally crack any branches or make any noise that might alert someone that they were around. The sun had gone down quickly, and luckily the darkness helped to conceal them. The only light they had was from the streetlights up ahead. Alex moved a tree branch out of his way and followed closely behind Sam. Alex noticed that Sam's guard was down and he knew this was his chance. He was about to pounce on Sam but suddenly stopped when he felt a tickle on his shoulder. He looked towards it and stopped in his tracks.
" Sam?" whispered Alex. " Sam!"
" What? What is it?" asked Sam, as he turned around to face Alex.
When Sam saw Alex, his eyes widened in horror. A brown recluse spider was slowly inching up Alex's shoulder. Alex stole a glance at the spider and then looked towards Sam. Alex held his breath, refusing to make even the slightest move.
"Alex, don't move," said Sam, as he began backing away.
" Sam!" said Alex.
" Don't move!" said Sam, and suddenly, he turned and ran in the opposite direction.
" Sam!" called Alex. " I knew it! That son of a bitch!"
Suddenly, Sam was back, but now he was holding a large stick. Sam slowly inched towards Alex and moved the pointed end of the stick towards the spider. Once it was close enough Sam used the stick to fling the spider off of Alex's shoulder and far away from them. Sam and Alex quickly got out of the brush and onto the road. Alex took a minute to catch his breath and calm down.
" Holy fuck!" said Alex.
" C'mon, we need to hurry," said Sam.
" Wait," said Alex. " I don't understand. Why did you come back? Why didn't you leave me?"
" I promised Nate I would stay with you," said Sam. Alex just looked at him surprised. " I told you, we need to trust each other."
Alex nodded his head and quickly followed Sam down the road to Colby's car.
Nate and Colby were silently resting their eyes when a loud bang caught their attention. Their eyes sprung open and they looked around curiously.
" Do you smell that?" asked Nate.
" Yeah, what the hell?" said Colby.
Nate suddenly got up to peek through the small crack once again.
"Holy shit!" said Nate. " They set the place on fire!"
" What?!!" said Colby.
Nate quickly rushed over to Colby and gently pulled him up.
" C'mon, we need to get out of here," said Nate. Nate threw Colby's arm around him and helped him towards the door.
" I'll just slow you down," said Colby. " You go."
" No way brother, I promised I wouldn't leave you," said Nate. " We can make it, c'mon."
Nate and Colby quickly made their way towards the hole in the wall. Colby winced as he eased himself through and Nate followed after. Nate helped Colby as he limped towards the road leading back the way they came. They stopped and looked back at the warehouse, seeing the bottom floor practically engulfed in flames. They then saw the group in the black cloaks, standing at a far distance on the other side of the warehouse, watching it burn. One of them turned their head towards Colby and Nate and gestured to the other members. They all simultaneously turned their heads to look at Nate and Colby. Several of them pulled out knives and began running towards the boys. Nate quickly picked up the pace, leading Colby quickly through the brush and towards the road. Nate stole a glance back and saw as the people were gaining on them. Suddenly, Colby's car pulled up in front of them.
" Get in quick!" said Sam.
Sam got out to help Nate settle Colby into the back seat. Alex quickly got out from the passenger side and began throwing several big rocks towards the people chasing them. Nate suddenly joined in, and the people chasing them took cover. They could also hear the sirens in the distance getting closer. It was most likely firefighters and the police that Sam and Alex had called.
" Guys hurry!" shouted Sam.
Sam waited as Alex and Nate quickly got into the car and then he sped off just as one of the other people stepped onto the road, attempting to chase the car, but stopping as they drove off.
" Woohoo, yes!" shouted Alex from the passenger seat.
" Holy fuck, dude," said Sam. " That was insane!"
" We did it!" said Nate.
" Damn right," said Colby as he high-fived Nate.
Neither of them had realized what they had done until they had already done it.
" Fuck, you guys are wild," said Nate.
" That was such an adrenaline rush," said Sam.
" I don't think I've ever had an experience like that," said Alex.
" That was actually kinda fun," said Colby. " Scary, but fun."
" You guys are alright," said Nate.
" You guys aren't so bad yourself," said Sam. He then fist bumped Alex.
Sam had driven Nate and Alex back to Nate's house. They were greeted by an older woman, who was most likely Nate's mother.
" Where have you two been?" she asked Nate.
" We were at the QuickyMart," Nate lied. " Sorry, we took so long, we made a couple of new friends." Sam and Colby waved from the car.
" You two didn't go out to that warehouse again, did you?" asked Nate's mother.
" No, of course not," said Alex.
She then turned towards Sam and Colby. " You two know anything about a warehouse?" she asked.
" Warehouse?" asked Sam. "Nope!"
Nate's mother looked back at them suspiciously but then turned and walked back into the house. Nate and Alex turned to give Sam and Colby a thumbs up. Sam and Colby gave them one back.
Nate then walked back up to Colby's car, leaning his arm on the top and peering in the open window.
" Listen uhh, you guys wanna hang again sometime?" asked Nate. " I know a creepy abandoned barn not far from here that's super cool."
Sam looked behind him at Colby and smiled. " Sure thing," said Sam, " but only if we stick together."
" You've got yourself a deal," said Nate.
All four of them quickly exchanged numbers. Colby made his way to the front passenger seat beside Sam and slid into the car next to him.
" Next stop, the hospital," said Sam.
" Please!" said Colby.
A few days later, Sam, Colby, Nate and Alex found the old barn and spent the entire day exploring it. The 4 of them were starting to form a great friendship and brotherhood that would for sure last a lifetime.